Love is a Gift
by Veemo-er
Summary: Galea tells Polli about her inner demons


Love is a Gift

"Aaaaaaaaaand ten minutes."Arven watched as his phone went through another minute, as he, Rima and Polli stood around the womens room door, waiting for Galea to come out. It had been ten minutes since the four of them had won a turf war game. And although the three of them were happy about it, the fourth member was anything but so. After returning to the square, she wandered off from the rest of them, only quietly saying "I need to use the bathroom".

"You think she tripped?" Rima asked. "Bathroom floors can be pretty slippery. I once hit my head really-"

"No, Gally isn't one to get hurt like that." Polli quickly responded, as her nervous expression refused to falter. Her girlfriend had had many moments like this in the past, but she usually just walked up to her, and asked for a hug.

"I'm gonna go in there."

"You sure that's a good idea Polli?" I mean, I know she's your girlfriend and all, but...she sometimes scares me." Said Arven, with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"I'll be ok Arven, it's not like she's gonna hurt me or anything." The Octoling responded with a fair amount of confidence. And with that, she walked up to the door, and went through.

Galea was staring directly at her reflection in the mirror. Her arms were at her side, and her signature Neo Splash-O-Matic was lying on the floor.

"Hey Gally." Polli said in a friendly tone.

But the Inkling didn't answer. She only continued to stare at the mirror. Polli then noticed that a tear was blooming, as it prepared to roll down her cheek. The Octoling then put her hand on her shoulder, which resulted in Galea flinching.

"Gally, what's wrong?" She was now getting nervous, as the Inkling began to inhale sharply.

"That….that Dapple user...he wouldn't...he wouldn't stand still!!" She yelled, as she began to pace around the bathroom. Polli instantly realized that she was in one of her "swings", and knew to keep her distance, yet keep talking.

"It's ok, it was just one game! Besides, what are the odds of us running into him again-""I should've splatted him! I-if I just aimed better I would've got him!!"

"But you didn't, and that's ok. You still rock Gally, and you always-""You don't understand!!" She stormed up to Polli, which instantly took her aback. She almost never directed her yelling at her.

"I made a stupid mistake and I almost cost us the game!! IF I HAD JUST BEEN SMART THEN I WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT!!!!!!!"And then Galea went up to the mirror, and yelled as she punched it. Polli screamed as it completely shattered, followed by Galea recoiling in pain, holding her hand tightly, as it started to bleed. The Inkling then looked at her girlfriend, and all of the anger in her face instantly faded into fear and shock, reflecting Polli's. The two of them just stared at each other in complete silence for the next few seconds.

"Gally…."

"I….I'm so sorry! You don't deserve me and my bullshit!"

Galea then grabbed her Neo Splash and ran out of the bathroom, still holding her bleeding hand. Polli instantly ran after her, calling her name.

"Galea wait! I just want to talk!" But Galea only continued to run away from her, not once looking back.

"Polli what happened?" Rima asked, as she and Arven joined her in watching.

"Wait, was she bleeding?" Arven looked down and saw a drop of blood.

But Polli didn't answer any of their questions, as tears began to form in her eyes.

"And then she just….ran off….didn't even look back…"

The three were now at a nearby cafe, as Polli told them what happened.

"Wow….I….I don't know what to say." Said Rima, clearly in shock.

"I don't think she's ever been that mad before...what could be on her mind that would lead her to punching a mirror?" Arven asked.

"I….I don't know." Polli answered, as she lowered her head. Ever since Galea had run off, she had no idea what to do next. For the first time in a very long time, she was actually scared of her in that moment.

"Well, it's been 40 minutes now since it. She might have calmed down by now." Arven suggested.

"But where did she go though?" Polli asked.

"Try texting her." Said Rima. "I mean, she'll actually be able to fully think about what to say, so she might feel more comfortable with that."

"...alright."

Polli pulled out her phone, and began to write a text to Galea.

Where are you right now? I just want to talk.

After another five minutes, she got a response.

Home.

"Alright, I'm gonna go check on her." Polli said to her friends, as she got out of the booth.

"Good luck Polli." Said Rima reassuringly.

"Oh hold on a sec!" Said Arven.

He reached into his wallet, and pulled out some gold coins.

"Use this to buy her a gift, if you feel like she might need one."

"Um...thanks Arven." Polli said, a little surprised, but still grateful.

"Trust me P, seeing her face light up from a gift will feel amazing. I always feel that way when my Rima-pie smiles." He turned towards Rima, and booped her nose, as she giggled in response.

"Arvy…."

Polli smiled at the two lovers, as she began to exit the cafe. That right there was exactly what she wanted with Galea, and that she knew would happen.

A little bit later, Polli arrived at the door to Galea's apartment, number 4-7. However, she was surprised to see that the door was unlocked, which was very unusual for her. As she stepped into the apartment, her eyes widened in response.

The lights were off, and the entire room was trashed. Pictures were lying on the floor, and pillows from the couch were all over the place. An open bag of chips was also on the floor, with the chips scattered all around it. But what caught Polli's attention the most was the Neo Splash. It was in two, and a puddle of yellow ink was around it. The fact that she not only split it in half, but did so with a bleeding hand was something that Polli could barely process.

"Gally? Where are you?"

No response. Polli then noticed that the bedroom door was wide open, and she saw Galea sleeping on the floor. She entered, and saw that she had taken her jellyvader cap and leather jacket off, exposing her dull red shirt. Her phone was next to her, as she slept with tears on her cheeks. The Octoling kneeled down, and gave her a gentle shove to wake her up. Galea stirred for a second, before widening her eyes and gasping at her girlfriend.

"Um...h-hi Polli…" she said sheepishly.

"Hey…"

An awkward silence filled the room, as neither of the girls knew what to say.

"...Gally?"

"Yeah?"

"Um….what...what happened back there?"

Galea looked at the floor, uncertain as to how to respond. Polli got on her knees, and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Gally, you can tell me anything, I trust you and you trust me." She said, with no doubt in her voice.

Galea looked into her girlfriend's deep blue eyes. She was right, she could tell her anything. And after thinking about it, she knew that she had to tell her what was on her mind.

"Pull up the back of my shirt.""Wait, what?" Polli asked.

"Just...just do it. It'll help if you see it"Polli crawled along the floor, and pulled up Galea's shirt. She made a loud gasp, as her eyes fell onto what was under it.

A long, diagonal scar ran down her back. It went from her shoulder, all the way to her hips. No wonder she always wore that jacket.

"Oh my gosh….Galea, what it is?!" Polli asked in shock, as she could not stop staring at the line.

"I guess I should explain from the start…"

"I never knew my mother, and I was raised by my father. But….father is a strong word. He never talked about my mother, and only told me that she was "the lucky one". And every single day felt like a nightmare. He never told me he loved me, he never told me he cared about me, and he never even complimented me. The only person I received any compliments from was my kindergarten teacher. But...even that didn't last long, for she got replaced by someone else halfway through the year.

She always told me that nobody is truly alone, and that one friend can make a huge difference. But….I had a hard time believing that, because it felt like everyone else in the school hated me. They called me Smelly Gally, and so many other horrible names. I never truly knew the actual reason why, but I do know one.

When I was younger, I was in love with the concept of turf war. I wanted to participate in it so badly when I grew up, and I especially took an interest in the .96 Gal. I just...I loved that weapon. But my father was strongly against the very idea of turf war, because he found it "pointless" and "stupid", and if I liked it, then I was also pointless and stupid.

One day I decided to make a toy replica of the .96. Although it was kinda crude, I was really proud of it. But I guess I was too loud with it one night, for my father barged in, took it out of my hands and….and he…."

Tears were rolling down Galea's cheeks rapidly at this point, as her voice began to falter and hiccup.

"H-he started to beat me with it. I-I-I don't know how long it went on, but I guess at some point a part of it broke off, a-and it cut my back really b-badly. I was screaming i-in pain, but he only c-continued to hit that exact spot over and over a-again. I-I think I fell asleep on the floor t-that night, but my clothes were completely soaked with b-blood.

H-he told me that I-I needed to b-be perfect in life, or else I would end up dying on the s-streets...and every time I messed up a-at home or at school, he'd s-slap me. I-I remember when he found out that I love girls instead of boys, a-and he called me horrible things, and kicked my scar.

But when I was 13, something happened to me. All of this sadness that I had been feeling for my whole life just transformed into pure anger. I was angry at everything and everyone...and then I-I punched my father. H-he kicked me out, and so I-I decided to take a train to Inkopolis…

But my anger came with me...I yelled at so many people that first day, a-and I became worried that I would actually die alone…

A-and then I met you. I-I knew that there was something different about you from the moment I l-laid eyes on you Polli….and then I realized I was in love and well….I think you

know the rest…."

"And that's it. That's my story."

Polli's face was full of complete sorrow and shock. There were tears in her eyes as well.

"Gally…I….I can't believe that….I'm so so sorry Gally." She said, as more tears began to fall.

"No Polli, I should be the one who's sorry, for scaring you like that in the bathroom...when I saw your face, I-I thought that I had become my father, and I felt like I had to keep you safe….."

Polli put her hands on her girlfriend's cheeks, as their eyes connected.

"Gally, I wanna help you. Nobody should go through stuff like that, nobody. To be honest, I wasn't really in a good spot either when we met…"

"What do you mean?"

"I...I just felt really lonely. Like nobody cared about me, and that I would never make a friend. But then I met you, and...I also knew that there was something special about you."

Tears began to roll down Galea's cheeks again, as Polli was clearly getting emotional.

"If I never met you, then...I don't know where I would be...but I wouldn't change anything, if it meant that we would have never met."

"Gally, I love you. I always will, and I'll never ever leave you, never."

Polli then felt her girlfriend wrap her arms around her, as she pulled her into a tight hug. She began to sob again, while Polli returned the hug. Eventually, she too began to cry again, as neither of them left the other.

2 Months Later

As the stars shone across Inkopolis, a small group of friends were gathered in Galea's apartment. A lot had changed since that day, and Galea had clearly done so for the better, which was helped with the fact that she was seeing a therapist, and that it was her birthday. She was now sporting a squid squad band tee, which represented her favorite color: pink. This was also shown with the fact that her hair was now a bright pink.

"Alright, I think it's time for Jenna's gift!" Said Coulee.

"O-oh, right. H-here you go Gally, it's nothing much though." Jenna said sheepishly, as she handed Galea a bag. The Inkling reached in, and pulled out a FishFry Visor.

"Wow, Jenna this is amazing!" She said excitedly, as she put it on her head.

"Thank you!" She added up with.

Galea then opened her arms out for a hug from Jenna. At first she didn't know how to react, since it was the first time that the Inkling had ever wanted an actual hug from her. But she smiled, and gave her one.

"Alright, who's next?" Galea asked.

Polli raised her hand, as she grabbed her gift. It was a simple envelope.

"It might not seem like much, but I think you're gonna love it." She said with a smile.

Galea returned the gesture, before gently opening the envelope. Her eyes nearly popped out of her sockets, as she took out two slips of paper.

"Polli...is….is this?" Galea began to hyperventilate.

"Two tickets to Squid Sisters live? Yeah I believe so."

"OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH YEEEEES!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH P, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!"

Galea was practically bouncing where she was sitting on the couch, which everyone chucked at. It was still a little weird seeing her like this. But what mattered was that she was happy, which made them happy.

Galea then turned to look at her girlfriend, and was greeted with another smile. The two of them stared at each other lovingly, as they began to lean in.

"Um...guys?" Arven said.

"Let em do it Arvy, they deserve it." Said Rima, as she smirked at the couple.

Coulee, Rima, Jenna and Arven watched as Polli and Galea connected their lips. Polli wrapped her arms around Galea's neck, while the Inkling wrapped hers around her waist. Galea even took off her King Flip Mesh, as the Octoling gave out a small moan. The two refused to separate, even as Coulee gave an awkward cough.

"They do realize she hasn't opened mine yet, right?" Coulee asked his friends.

"I'll be honest Coulee," said Rima.

"Their love is probably the best gift the two of them will ever have."


End file.
